Water

Stretching almost 1,900 miles from Colorado to the Gulf of America, The Rio Grande supplies drinking water for more than 6 million people and irrigation for about 2 million acres of cropland. In addition to the ecosystem services it provides, the river supports habitat for many native species, such as trout, and the endangered silvery minnow and southwestern willow flycatcher. In 2010, a...

Coral reef ecosystems serve as natural coastal defenses, support local island economies, and are important sources of food for coastal communities. However, an increase in coral bleaching events, and the associated declines of coral cover and diversity, are highly likely as sea surface temperatures continue to rise. Multiple coral bleaching events between 2013 and 2017 have already...

The greater Mississippi River Basin drains 3.2 million square kilometers of land and spans 31 U.S. states. Ninety percent of all U.S. agricultural exports are grown in the Mississippi River Basin, and about 40 percent of the nation's total exports are transported through its major rivers. About 1.3 million people, accounting for $405 billion in annual revenues, work in river-related jobs...

The Squaxin Island Tribe (SIT) is descended from maritime people who have lived and prospered along the shores of the southernmost inlets of the Salish Sea for millennia. Climate change is projected to result in lower low water flows, higher peak water temperatures, and bigger and more frequent floods, due to both changes in peak flows and sea level rise. These changes could have...

Madagascar, a country rich in natural capital and biodiversity but with high levels of poverty, food insecurity, and population growth, faces a number of development challenges, including obtaining sustained financial support from external sources and building internal capacity to address the poor environmental, health, and socio-economic conditions. Climate change poses an increasing...

Floods and droughts are forecasted to occur with greater frequency and to be more extreme because of climate change. These changes will increase stresses on both cities and natural systems. Increased flooding can harm infrastructure designed to support human needs and natural systems that support fish and wildlife. Increased drought can have direct impacts on fish and wildlife by...

The Northeast U.S. coast is experiencing some of the fastest rates of sea level rise in the world. The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is particularly at risk from sea level rise and coastal storm impacts. Erosion and storm impacts have already led to the degradation of shoreline habitats and protective structures (e.g., sea walls), as well as direct impacts to historic...

In recent decades, average temperatures across the U.S. Southwest have increased substantially and precipitation patterns have increased in variability. The warmer temperatures directly impact water availability within Southwest ecosystems, including earlier snowmelts; reduced snowpacks, soil moisture, and streamflow; and lower humidity. Collectively, this has led to an increase in...

Since the early 1970s, the negative impacts of small aircraft activity on local wildlife and subsistence hunting have been an ongoing concern expressed by rural communities in Arctic Alaska. More specifically, these communities have expressed concern that aircraft activity from industry, commercial (sport) hunting, research, and tourism is disturbing caribou by altering their behavior...

There is a growing movement within natural resource management to view wildlife health as a cumulative outcome of many different factors, rather than simply the absence of disease. This inclusive understanding of health opens the door to management options that are more creative than traditional techniques aimed at preventing or mitigating pathogens. The public health field uses a...

Trout are one of the most culturally, economically, and ecologically important groups of freshwater fishes in the Rocky Mountain region. However, human impacts and climate change are significantly altering freshwater ecosystems that support native trout species. Despite their broad importance, many of the region’s trout populations are threatened and some require immediate conservation...

Brook trout are the only native fish from the salmon family in the southeastern United States. Despite their recreational and cultural significance, human activities, such as habitat degradation and introduction of non-native species, have led to serious declines of brook trout populations in the region. Stream temperature and flow alterations from climate change are projected to impact...